Complaints against mobile payment apps like Zelle, Venmo surge 300% as consumers fall victim to more money scams
Complaints against some digital payment services and apps like Venmo , Cash App or Zelle are skyrocketing, according to a troubling new report.
Nonprofit U.S. Public Interest Research Group [PIRG] says top issues include scams, trouble using accounts and poor customer service. The group analyzed more than 9,200 complaints filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from 2017 to April of 2021.
The report found more than 2,700 complaints were made from January to April of this year — compared to just over 600 in the same period last year.
One of them is Luke Krafka, a professional cellist from Long Island, New York . Krafka often plays in concerts with a changing cast of musicians, who are usually paid in cash — and he says mobile payment apps have made that task a lot easier.
"Paypal, Venmo, cash app, yeah. There's no paper involved, there's no checks involved, there's no waiting," he told CBS News Consumer Investigative Correspondent Anna Werner, "You get paid right away, goes to your bank account."
